Come baaaaaaack...

Warning: Mildly whiny and nostalgic post.

I miss my friends. I miss my friends. I MISS MY FRIENDS.

I'm staying on campus this summer for a research thing, and I'm thrilled about it. I enjoy having freedom and being in the "city" instead of half an hour away from everything... But campus is SUPER empty. I mean, I have a handful of friends/acquaintances around, and Tiff's still in town (which ROCKS because she's one of my really, really close friends), but the vast majority of my on-campus comrades are far away... :(

This was a really, really good semester, made up of Catan and Harry Potter and midnight math and IHOP and late nights and laughter and tears and friendship and love of the friendly variety and... I should probably take a breath. My point is that it was a really, really good year. Probably one of my favorites so far. To be honest, I wasn't entirely ready to see it end, which is partially why I'm pining for last August... And this August, though things are going to be different... We're all going to be in separate buildings doing separate things. One friend is going to Greek housing, another's moving to the suites/apartments. I'm a peer adviser in our freshman dorm, two others are in the International/Honors/Arts hall, and Tiff moved off-campus. We're all over the place, which means that things aren't just going to go back to normal when they come back... It's going to change.

I know change is good, but I'm the person who got frustrated when the "high" and "low" temperatures changed sides of the white board. I don't adapt well sometimes (I'm great at reacting to stimuli, but long term changes that distance me from those I love, well... I'm a bit resistant).

But more to the topic of this post... There's something special about having a close group of friends... About being able to be there for someone that has been there for you. About being accepted when you're on top of the world or when you're broke, stressed, and cranky. I am very, very blessed to have them in my life. This may sound crazy and sappy, but a "love you" or "thank you" from someone in that group (or from a family member) means so much more to me than one from a random stranger.

Family is the most important thing in life. Always. But sometimes you have those friends that blur the barrier a bit and become family... And thank God for them. I love you guys (you know who you are), and I will see you in August!